Media content users enjoy the ability to upgrade existing media presentation devices (e.g., television sets, audio sound systems, video display monitors, etc.) to newer systems such as home theater systems that offer higher quality in terms of video quality, audio fidelity, and/or display quality.
Problems arise, however, if the user owns media content that does not have a corresponding quality that enables the user to exploit the enhanced features of the higher-quality media presentation devices. For example, a user having purchased an HDTV set (and a high definition disk drive such as a Blu-Ray disc player) cannot enjoy the full HDTV experience during presentation of media content stored on a conventional DVD (e.g., a movie stored at a resolution of 720×480 pixels (NTSC) or 720×576 (PAL) and having monaural or two-channel audio). Hence, the only modification typically available to the user is employing video scaler circuitry within the HDTV set or the DVD player to “expand” the stored 720×480 pixel DVD video to fit the 1920×1080 pixel HDTV screen. However, video scaling to incompatible aspect ratios (e.g., 3:2 stored on the DVD to 16:9 on the HDTV) causes distortion by causing individuals to appear either “short and fat” (due to excess horizontal expansion), or cropping of edges of a displayed scene.
Hence, a user is forced to purchase a higher-quality version of the same DVD from the content provider in order to exploit the enhanced features of the higher-quality media presentation device such as the HDTV set and the “5.1” audio system.
Users of personal computers employing web browsers can download different versions of media content for presentation on their personal computers. For example, a user can download a “free” version of a media content item that includes advertising, utilizes a small screen size, and/or presents only a portion of the available content. A user also can choose a “premium” version of the same media content item upon payment of a prescribed fee and which can include extended features, advertisements, and/or offer a full screen size. Users of personal computers also can download different versions of media content based on the available bandwidth for connecting to a media content source, for example a smaller screen size presentation for low bandwidth connections, or a larger screen size presentation for high-bandwidth connections.